‘Studentification’, and Housing in Multiple Occupancy
Tom Oliver, Intern, Core Cities Group
A growing issue for the Core Cities is the increase in areas with predominant student occupation and multiple occupancy housing—both of which can have substantial impacts on surrounding areas. In addressing these issues, the Core Cities Group is taking action through its Housing and Planning Groups to work with Government to shape policy that will help our councils ensure that the potential problems associated with such developments.
Although we all want the benefits vibrant student populations bring, when areas are completely colonised by students it can make it difficult for local business to survive outside of term-time and creates something that could not be described as a mixed or balanced neighbourhood.
A related problem is the creation of multi-occupancy housing, over which planning authorities have little or no say at the moment. This can and has resulted in entire streets of houses being taken over and turned into often very small flats, totally changing the character of an area in a way that may run counter to local development plans.
These changes can seem beneficial in the short term, but as populations move on, they can leave behind areas which have had the heart taken out of them in the long term, and most places would like to take a more strategic approach to creating vibrant and sustainable communities. At the end of the day, this is something that affects local quality of life.
Because of this impact, the Core Cities Group, through its Planning and Housing Groups, will be making representation to Whitehall on the issue. In particular, we will be responding to a report from the Department for Communities and Local Government published in September 2008, ‘Evidence Gathering – Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and possible planning responses’.
Because of the impact on student populations, this issue requires a considered approach; the report by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) is a good start in which the Core Cities Group has already played a vital role.
As early as 2007 the Core Cities Planning Working Group had been investigating the problems and possible solutions to the issue of HMO concentrations. Over the following year Leeds and Nottingham took the lead in liasing with CLG, and their research partner ECOTEC, to contribute to the evidence gathering document.
Including a host of best practice examples from the Core Cities, the CLG report concludes that there are some workable solutions to HMO concentrations in the short to medium term, but in the longer term we may need amendments to the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987. CLG will consult on this, something the Core Cities have helped bring about. The combined expertise of the cities in this field coupled with excellent existing local initiatives create a robust basis from which to move forward and explore legislative change and we will use our networks to assist in the process going forward.